Some Land Surveying Problems

W. E. C a m p
Instructor
Civil Engineering, Purdue

Land surveying problems confronting the land surveyor might

well be placed in two general classifications; one, the mechanical
and mathematical solution of given problems, and secondly that type
of problem where the surveyor must exercise judgment and knowl­
edge of land surveying procedures.
It is not probable that many of you would be interested in the
academic presentation of a method for finding the area of a given
polygon, as you each have a system of your own which is probably
mathematically acceptable. However, I might take the liberty of
citing to you pages 300 and 301 in Engineering Surveys, Elementary
and Applied, by Rubey, Lommel, Todd, where you will find a good
discussion of how to find areas by the double meridian distance
method and also how to find areas by the use of the restangular
coordinate method. There are dozens of other textbooks on survey­
ing which will also explain these same methods for finding areas.
Let us proceed to some of the basic understandings which we
should all possess as land surveyors. There may be hundreds of
specific problems, but perhaps we can cover many of those specific
problems by making some general statements and setting out some
of the main principles which we should clearly understand
The first two questions the client will likely ask you, and
frequently in almost the same breath are: “How soon can you do
the job?” and “How much will it cost?” To the first question you
can probably give a reasonable answer, but the second question
(cost) may be more difficult to answer, and frequently the cost
seems unreasonably high to your client. We can't set a salary
schedule here, but we can agree again concerning the principles upon
which to base our charges. Certainly it is not unreasonable for
us to say that our minimum fee should be that amount necessary
for us to perform the service asked on a recognized professional
level. And what is that level ? For a good answer, I suggest you
read the “Recommendations for use in Preparation of Fee Sched­
ules—American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.”

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OBLIGATIONS AND L IA B IL IT IE S
As a land surveyor, what do you owe to your client and what
are your liabilities? You are obligated to bring to each job only
that professional competence which any land surveyor would bring
to the job. If you complete a task by the use of procedures which
any other average land surveyor would use under like conditions,
then you have perhaps discharged your duties in a manner satis­
factory to the law. Absolute accuracy is by no means guaranteed
or implied in the above statements.
There is no place in our profession for the man who implies
that for a higher price he will do a “better job” of surveying! All
of the work we do should be done to the very best of our ability,
and with the thought in mind that we might need to defend our
actions and procedures in court; in fact, there is where your liabil­
ities might first dawn upon you!
If you are employed to make a lot survey and erroneously
locate the line so that the client builds over on his neighbor’s land,
you are very likely liable for the damages which your client suffers
in moving his house, or acquiring the extra land needed! Doesn’t
it seem that the realization of such liability on the part of the sur­
veyor would almost automatically eliminate the cursory five-dollar
lot survey? Of course, if you merely made the mistake of parting
off too much land, you would probably lose only the amount of
your fees for the job. These two liabilities should serve to make us
proceed with great care so that our actions can be defended in
court, and shown to be those of an ordinary prudent land surveyor.
And you should remember that your liability is the same whether
you are a county surveyor, or a private surveyor.

EXCESS AND D EFIC IEN CY

Excess and deficiency will frequently pose a knotty problem for
the land surveyor, as it is seldom that present day measurements
will agree with ancient measurements. When making lot surveys in
a platted city or town block, the whole block must be investigated
before determining the final location of the lot lines. On the
assumption that there are no good evidences of lot lines, the excess
or deficiency must be apportioned to the various lots according to
their respective frontages.
However, the surveyor must clearly realize all the ramifications
of adverse possession, and pay due respect to ancient fences. You
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will meet these problems out in the field, and in a good many instances
you must make your decisions right there in the field. Justice
and fairness certainly should be the essence of all decisions which
you may make.
In the rural areas, you are all aware of the fact that rarely
do we find the distance from one section line to another section line
to be 5,280 feet, nor will the half-mile contain 2,640 feet, nor will
the quarter-mile contain 1,320 feet. I happen to remember a par­
ticular quarter-mile which measured 1,343.3 feet.
Whenever a distance is measured and found to be different
than the value given in the original land survey, it is proper that
it be recorded as the true distance which you found it to be. When
new descriptions are written, there is no reason why an incorrect
distance should be recorded in the new description just because it
has appeared incorrectly in dozens of previous descriptions. It cer­
tainly isn’t wrong to record distances (and angles, too) as they
actually exist upon the ground.
Of course, there are many "paper surveys” on record where
land line intersection angles are always 90° and the distances are
all proper divisions of 5,280 feet. I have yet to find two intersecting
land lines which form an angle of exactly 90°. The distances and
angles should, and must be, recorded as they actually exist, if our
surveys are to mean anything.

LAND D ESCR IPTIO N S

Descriptions may develop some problems for the land surveyor.
Most of the resurveys which are made today must have a former
description as a basis of the resurvey. Interpretation of an old
description, and the following of the description out on the
ground, may become a major problem, and it is here that the
knowledge and experience of the surveyor stands him in good stead.
Of course, it is well known that old monuments, found and proven
without doubt, constitute about the best evidence of the beginning
and the end of a given line. However, we all know, too, that the
actual location of and finding of those old monuments might even
tax the ability of a Sherlock Holmes.
Where highways and roads have been constructed upon section
lines, the chances are at least fifty-fifty that you will not be able
to uncover the original monuments, and here is where the land
surveyor must exercise some ingenuity. Witnesses have long since
disappeared in most communities, and the surveyor must use his
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best judgment—keeping in mind that he should follow a procedure

acceptable to any other prudent land surveyor called upon to do
the same job.
In many parts of Indiana, this rectangular land system is quite
evident upon the ground, and is frequently marked by fences of
long standing. These fences are land monuments, and mark and
determine the ownership of property, just as well as the old
original monuments placed at the section corners and subdivisions
of the section. It is presumed that those fences were built from
land corner to land corner, when the corners were in existance, and
therefore are about the best evidence of where the land line once
was. Regardless of what distances might be called for in a descrip­
tion, the old original monuments would prevail, but where those
monuments can no longer be uncovered, then great weight must
be given to ancient fences.
The study of an aerial photograph of the area to be resurveyed
is often of much help, as those old land lines often show up very
distinctly from a photo taken some 20,000 feet in the air. Aerial
photos are available in all counties of Indiana, as the AAA had the
state “flown” back in 1937 in connection with the crop allotment
program. A birds-eye-view of your whole surveying job is right
there before your eyes, and you can even have depth-perception
of the area by the use of the stereoscope. This could be of real
value on large subdivision jobs.
In writing the new description, there is no reason why the
surveyor should hold to the ancient legal terminology so frequently
found in descriptions. Present day distances, as they exist upon
the ground, should be used, and it seems that perhaps the angles
at corners should be recorded, rather than the usual bearings. Why
not place the angular value at the corner, rather than have to
compute it from a bearing (perhaps incorrect bearing) each time
you might want the angle ?
There may not be a “standard” for a perfect description, but
a good description should be as brief and concise as possible, give
the essential data, and be written in language which is not con­
fusing. Legal phraseology can be eliminated completely, as it
merely confuses the average person. It seems that a scale draw­
ing of the survey should be attached to and made a part of the
description and if a transit-tape survey has been made, the 1/d
for the traverse should be clearly indicated. While the 1/d of the
survey does not mean much to the layman, it does have some value
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to the professional land surveyor, and is an indicator of the general

quality of the work for that survey.

SU B-DIVISION SURVEYS
At present, the land surveyor is frequently called upon to
make the survey for a sub-division adjacent to or within city limits
and he should have a clear understanding of the steps involved.
It seems obvious that if we are to divide a given area we must
know how much area there is to divide; therefore, the first thing
to do is to make a boundary survey of the area involved, and be
sure we have an acceptable 1/d. Many cities have specifications
governing the making of subdivisions, stating minimum widths for
streets, sight distances on curves, types of monuments which shall
be used, etc.
West Lafayette specifications call for a 1/d of 1/5000 for sub­
division work, which is not at all unreasonable, as many farm
surveys will be of this order or even higher. Along with the
boundary survey it may be found desirable to make a topographic
survey of the area, especially if the land is rolling to rough, and
the streets and lots are to take advantage of the lay of the land.
After the boundary and topographic survey have been drafted
on tracing paper, or cloth, tentative street and lot lay-outs can be
developed and studied, and shown to the client for approval. When
a satisfactory lay out is developed on paper you can start to
actually lay out the streets and lots in the field, and you will find
out that dimensions which were scaled on your tentative lay-out plan
will not always work out in the field. The setting of iron stakes
and concrete monuments should be done at this time and the actual
distances and angles measured and recorded on your final map.
When curved streets are used in a sub-division, all the pertinent
curve data should be shown on the map for future reference, as the
relocation of lot lines along curved streets is somewhat difficult
when the curve data is missing. The surveyor 25 years hence will
not be as familiar with the job as you are right now. When the
final map is completed, with all distances and angles recorded as
they actually exist in the field, the certification and seal of the
surveyor should be appended to the map. Of course, there will
also need to be the proper statements concerning dedication, re­
strictions, and places for signatures of proper county and/or city
officials.
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And finally, in due course of time, your client will probably

have the plot recorded. Extreme care should be taken by the
surveying crew when measuring the angles at lot corners and the
distances between monuments at the lot corners, Permanent monu­
ments should be established at every lot corner, but what constitutes
a permanent monument? As the years pass, and lots here and there
in the subdivision are developed, monuments will be moved, obliter­
ated, or lost, and then the angles and distances on adjacent lots
are of great value to the future surveyor when he is called upon
to retrace a doubtful lot line. Thorough referencing of important
corners can not be over-stressed, although it is recognized that
permanence in reference points is just as difficult to attain as
permanence in the monument itself; however, we should not ignore
the use of references for this reason alone.

A FA IR CHARGE
And now that you have developed an acceptable subdivision
plot for your client, and helped steer him through the various
laws governing the development of that plot, how much is a fair
charge? You have taken land worth perhaps two or three hundred
dollars per acre, and by your knowledge and effort changed it into
land worth perhaps five to seven thousand dollars per acre—yes,
perhaps up to twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars per acre! It
seems to me that you have created wealth, and under our free
enterprise system you should be allowed to participate in that
wealth. How much? Here again you will need to exercise judg­
ment and discretion, but as land surveyors, we might look to other
professions in our society and be governed accordingly.